Ryanair welcomes eDreams changes following High Court action

3 December 2015

Ryanair has welcomed changes made to the eDreams display on the Google search page, less than 36 hours after the low-cost carrier initiated legal proceedings against both companies to stop consumers being deceived.

The eDreams paid advertising has been amended to now read ‘Ryanair Flight on eDreams’, instead of ‘Ryanair: Cheap Flights’.

Thousands of customers had complained to Ryanair in recent months after booking false fares with hidden fees on the misleading subdomain “Ryanair.edreams.com”, a copycat website which features identical Ryanair branding.

The Irish airline had called the existing set up a “blatant attempt to dupe consumers”.

This ongoing deception had led to consumers encountering a range of problems, such as checked-in bags not being recorded, contact details being omitted and additional passengers not being recognised or added to the booking.

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Ryanair issued legal proceedings in the Irish High Court on Monday and welcomed the minor change to the eDreams display, which it hopes will be the first step in a successful campaign to prevent any more consumers being misled.

“This issue cannot be ignored any longer, with thousands of consumers being deceived into booking false fares with hidden fees and we have reiterated our calls for more transparent online advertising from both eDreams and Google.

“While this is a step in the right direction, our campaign will continue until these deceptive practices are fully eradicated.

“We have no issue with Google charging advertisers on its paid search function, but this must be done in an open and transparent manner and in line with Google’s own code of conduct. Consumers can rest assured that we will continue to fight on their behalf.”